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Spacing 101
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Spacing with punctuation is not always the same in English and French. These differences often cause us to wonder whether we should leave a space before or after a dash, a question mark or an exclamation point. So, with you in mind, we created this table to help you get your spacing right in both official languages.
Spacing in English
| Punctuation mark | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| apostrophe (within a
word)
the woman's hat |
no space | no space |
| apostrophe (end of
word)
the employees' suggestions |
no space | 1 space |
| colon
We'll need the following: a tent, sleeping bags, and good weather. |
no space | 1 space |
| comma
She was born on Friday, March 13, 2009. |
no space | 1 space |
| dashes
em dash: Jean's car—a silver Lexus—was stolen last night. en dash: pages 84–95 |
no space | no space |
| decimal point
43.5 hours |
no space | no space |
| ellipsis
No spaces before and after points: There was little he could say…so he said nothing. |
1 space | 1 space |
| exclamation point
Wow! That's wonderful! |
no space | 1 space |
| hyphen
the bride-to-be |
no space | no space |
| oblique (between two
letters, symbols or words)
n/a |
no space | no space |
| oblique (between
groups with internal spacing)
Language and Society / Langue et societé |
1 space | 1 space |
| parenthesis or
bracket (opening)
The em dash (long dash) is a substitute for the comma, colon or semicolon. |
1 space | no space |
| parenthesis or
bracket (closing)
Using personal pronouns (I, you, we) helps us write more clearly. |
no space | 1 space |
| period
You can drop by tomorrow. I'll be home. |
no space | 1 space |
| question mark
What did he say? I wasn't listening. |
no space | 1 space |
| quotation marks
(opening)
She said, "We have nothing to fear |
1 space | no space |
| quotation marks (closing)
but fear itself." |
no space | 1 space |
| semicolon
To err is human; to forgive, divine. |
no space | 1 space |
Spacing in French
| Punctuation mark | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| apostrophe | no space | no space |
| colon | 1 non-breaking space* | 1 space |
| comma | no space | 1 space |
| decimal comma | no space | no space |
| dashes (em and en) | 1 space | 1 space |
| ellipsis | no space | 1 space |
| exclamation point | no space | 1 space |
| oblique (between two letters, symbols or words) | no space | no space |
| oblique (between two groups with internal spacing) | 1 space | 1 space |
| parenthesis or bracket (opening) | 1 space | no space |
| parenthesis or bracket (closing) | no space | 1 space |
| period | no space | 1 space |
| question mark | no space | 1 space |
| quotation marks (opening) | 1 space | 1 non-breaking space* |
| quotation marks (closing) | 1 non-breaking space* | 1 space |
| semicolon | no space | 1 space |
*To create a non-breaking space in Word, hold down Ctrl and Shift when you hit the space bar. In WordPerfect, hold down Ctrl when you hit the space bar. For any other word processors, check the special characters section.
